Toilet with odor exhausting mechanism

ABSTRACT

A toilet with bad-odor exhausting mechanism includes a toilet main body having a bowl and a seat. An exhausting mechanism is provided in the toilet main body for exhausting bad odor in the bowl to an outdoor environment, and includes a passage extending around a top of the bowl, a plurality of vents communicating the passage with a space in the bowl, an extension passage extended from an end of the passage to an outer side of the toilet main body, a connecting member connected to another end of the extension passage, an exhaust pipe having an end locked to the connecting member, and an exhaust motor connected to another end of the exhaust pipe. When the exhaust motor is started, bad odor in the bowl is sucked into the passage and exhausted to the outdoor environment via the extension passage and the exhaust pipe.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a toilet with bad-odor exhausting mechanism, and more particularly to a toilet provided with a bad-odor exhausting mechanism capable of exhausting bad odor in the toilet bowl to an outdoor environment.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

A toilet has now become a prerequisite sanitary apparatus in people's daily life. Various kinds of improvements have been constantly made to toilet design, so as to enable improved flushing efficiency and reduced flushing noise. Toilet made of newly developed materials can be more easily cleaned and is more convenient and comfortable for use.

FIG. 1 is a vertical sectional view of a conventional toilet structure. As shown, the conventional toilet structure includes an automated flushing device 10 for maintaining the toilet in a clean and sanitary condition. The toilet includes a water-seal structure 12 in the form of an S-shaped siphon tube and located between a bowl of the toilet and a sewer pipe 11 connected to a septic tank, so as to avoid bad odor or insects and rats from going into the user's house via the sewer pipe 11. The water-seal structure 12 is simple and effective in terms of its function of stopping insects and rats or bad odor from entering into the house via the sewer pipe 11.

However, the bad odor is not simply produced from the sewer pipe 11 and the septic tank. The currently available toilet technical designs fail to remove the bad odor that exists in the bowl above the water-seal structure 12 when a user is using the toilet.

While many modern toilets are developed with new technology to solve a lot of problems in connection with using the toilets, the bad odor in the bowl remains as the oldest and toughest problem in a dressing room without being solved by any effective manner. A very common way to somewhat solve the problem of bad odor in the toilet is to use aroma chemical compounds to eliminate or cover the bad odor. These chemical compounds are usually hazardous to users and the living environment. Taiwan New Utility Model Patent Number M281584 discloses a toilet seat lid with bad odor removing device, in which an ozone generator is provided in the toilet seat lid to generate ozone for oxidizing the bad odor. However, ozone itself has a very unpleasant smell and therefore has only very limited effect in removing bad odor. Moreover, low-concentration ozone has poor bad odor removing effect while high-concentration ozone would be hazardous to human body.

In view that the use of chemical substances to remove or cover bad odor in the toilet would bring to the above problems, it is necessary to develop other simple and safe way to remove the bad odor in the toilet.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A primary object of the present invention is to provide a toilet with bad-odor exhausting mechanism, so that bad odor existed above the water-seal structure in the toilet can be timely and effectively exhausted to an outdoor environment via the exhausting mechanism.

To achieve the above and other objects, the toilet according to the present invention includes a toilet main body having a bowl and a corresponding seat provided on a top of the bowl. The bowl internally defines a bowl space, which has a bottom opening communicating with a water-seal structure, which is connected at a lower end to a sewer pipe.

The toilet of the present invention is characterized in having a bad-odor exhausting mechanism associated with the toilet main body for exhausting gas in the bowl space to an outdoor environment. The exhausting mechanism includes a passage provided in the toilet main body to extend around the bowl space, a plurality of vents spaced along the passage and communicating with the bowl space, an extension passage having an end connected to an end of the passage, a connecting member connected to another end of the extension passage, an exhaust pipe having an end locked to the connecting member, and an exhaust motor connected to another end of the exhaust pipe for exhausting the gas in the bowl space to the outdoor environment.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the passage is embedded in the top of the bowl; the vents are separately extended between a wall surface of the bowl space and the passage in top of the bowl; and the other end of the extension passage is extended to an outer surface of the bowl. Further, the connecting member is a threaded ring.

In another preferred embodiment of the present invention, the passage is embedded in and extended around the seat; the vents are located in the seat to communicate the bowl space with the passage; and the other end of the extension passage is extended to an outer surface of the seat.

In an operable embodiment of the present invention, the seat is a combined seat assembled from an upper seat and a corresponding lower seat. The upper seat is provided on a bottom side with an upper passage extending around the upper seat, a plurality of upper vents communicating the upper passage with an inner edge of the upper seat, and an upper extension passage communicating with the upper passage and leading to an outer edge of the upper seat. The lower seat is provided on a top side with a lower passage corresponding to the upper passage and extending around the lower seat, a plurality of lower vents corresponding to the upper vents, and a lower extension passage corresponding to the upper extension passage. When the upper seat is closed to and laid on the top side of the lower seat, the upper and lower passages together define the passage, the upper and lower vents together define the vents, and the upper and lower extension passages together define the extension passage.

In another operable embodiment, the connecting member is configured as a pivotal structure for movably connecting the seat to the bowl. The pivotal structure includes a pivotal hole located in a pivotal section of the seat, the pivotal hole has an end communicating with the extension passage and another end pivotally connected to a hollow pivotal shaft that is connected to a bearing section provided on an outer surface of the bowl. The hollow pivotal shaft internally defines an axially extended bore and is provided around an end connected to the bearing section with a radially outward extended flange, which prevents the hollow pivotal shaft from sliding out of the bearing section. And, the bearing section internally defines a hollow space, which communicates with the exhaust pipe.

In a further operable embodiment, the seat is configured as a hollow seat assembled from a first seat and a corresponding second seat. The first seat defines on a bottom side a recessed space, and is provided on a surface at a predetermined position with an extension opening. The second seat is provided on a bottom side at predetermined positions with a plurality of spaced vents. When the first seat is closed to and laid on the second seat, the recessed space functions like an exhaust passage, which is connected at the extension opening to the exhaust pipe via the connecting member.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The structure and the technical means adopted by the present invention to achieve the above and other objects can be best understood by referring to the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments and the accompanying drawings, wherein

FIG. 1 is a vertical sectional view of a conventional toilet;

FIG. 2 is a vertical sectional view of a toilet with bad-odor exhausting mechanism according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a partially cross-sectional view of the toilet according to the first preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of a seat for a toilet according to a first operable embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is an exploded bottom perspective view of a seat for a toilet according to a second operable embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a partially cutaway view showing a connecting member for a toilet according to a third operable embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 7 is an enlarged view of the circled area of FIG. 6.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The present invention will now be described with some preferred embodiments thereof and with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Please refer to FIGS. 2 and 3, in which a toilet with bad-odor exhausting mechanism according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention is shown. As shown, the toilet in the preferred embodiment includes a toilet main body 20. The toilet main body 20 includes a bowl 21 and a seat 30 correspondingly provided on a top of the bowl 21. The bowl 21 internally defines an open-topped bowl space 22. A bottom opening of the bowl space 22 is connected to and communicates with a water-seal structure 23 in the form of an S-shaped siphon tube. The water-seal structure 23 has sufficient water stored therein to block bad odor and insects and rats from going into the bowl via a sewer pipe 24 connected to a lower end of water-seal structure 23, i.e. the S-shaped siphon tube.

An exhausting mechanism 40 is provided in the top of the toilet main body 20 for exhausting gas in the bowl space 22 to an outdoor environment. The exhausting mechanism 40 includes a passage 41 embedded in the toilet main body 20 to extend around the bowl space 22, a plurality of vents 42 spaced along the passage 41 and communicating with the bowl space 22, an extension passage 43 having an end connected to an end of the passage 41, a connecting member 44 connected to another end of the extension passage 43, an exhaust pipe 45 having an end locked to the connecting member 44, and an exhaust motor 46 connected to another end of the exhaust pipe 45 for exhausting the gas in the bowl space 22 to the outdoor environment.

In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 3, the exhausting mechanism 40 is associated with the bowl 21, such that the passage 41 is embedded in the top of the bowl 21 to extend around the bowl space 22. The vents 42 are separately extended between a wall surface of the bowl space 22 and the passage 41 in the bowl 21, so that bad odor in the bowl space 22 above the water-seal structure 23 in the bowl 21 can be sucked into the passage 41 via the vents 42. The extension passage 43 communicates with the passage 41 and is extended to an outer surface of the bowl 21 to connect to the exhaust pipe 45 and the exhaust motor 46 via the connecting member 44. The connecting member 44 can be configured as a threaded ring, for example.

FIG. 4 shows a first operable embodiment of the present invention, in which the exhausting mechanism 40 is provided in the seat 30. The passage 41 is embedded in and extended around the seat 30. The seat 30 is internally provided with a plurality of vents 42 communicating the bowl space (not shown in FIG. 4) with the passage 41. The extension passage 43 has an end communicating with the passage 41 and another end extended to an outer surface of the seat 30 to communicate with an outdoor environment.

In the operable embodiment illustrated in FIG. 4, the seat 30 is a combined seat 31 assembled from an upper seat 311 and a corresponding lower seat 312. The upper seat 311 is provided on a bottom side with an upper passage 313 extending around the upper seat 311, a plurality of upper vents 314 communicating the upper passage 313 with an inner edge of the upper seat 311, and an upper extension passage 315 communicating with the upper passage 313 and leading to an outer edge of the upper seat 311. The lower seat 312 is provided on a top side with a lower passage 316 corresponding to the upper passage 313 and extending around the lower seat 312, a plurality of lower vents 317 corresponding to the upper vents 314, and a lower extension passage 318 corresponding to the upper extension passage 315. When the upper seat 311 is closed to and laid on the top side of the lower seat 312, the upper and lower passages 313, 316 together define the passage 41, the upper and lower vents 314, 317 together define the vents 42, and the upper and lower extension passages 315, 318 together define the extension passage 43.

FIG. 5 shows a second operable embodiment of the present invention, in which the exhausting mechanism 40 is provided in the seat 30, and the seat 30 is configured as a hollow seat 32 assembled from a first seat 321 and a corresponding second seat 322. The first seat 321 defines on a bottom side a recessed space 323, and is provided on a surface at a predetermined position with an extension opening 324. The second seat 322 is provided on a bottom side at predetermined positions with a plurality of spaced vents 325. When the first seat 321 is closed to and laid on the second seat 322, the recessed space 323 functions like an exhaust passage, which is connected at the extension opening 324 to an exhaust pipe (not shown in FIG. 5) via the connecting member (not shown in FIG. 5).

FIG. 6 shows a third operable embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 7 is an enlarged view of the circled area of FIG. 6. As shown, in the illustrated third operable embodiment, the connecting member 44 is configured as a pivotal structure 50 for movably connecting the seat 30 to the bowl 21. The pivotal structure 50 includes a pivotal hole 51 located in a pivotal section 301 of the seat 30. The pivotal hole 51 has an end communicating with the extension passage 43, and another end pivotally connected to a hollow pivotal shaft 52, while the hollow pivotal shaft 52 is connected to a bearing section 211 provided on an outer surface of the bowl 21. The hollow pivotal shaft 52 internally defines an axially extended bore 53, and is provided around an end connected to the bearing section 211 with a radially outward extended flange 54, which prevents the hollow pivotal shaft 52 from sliding out of the bearing section 211. The bearing section 211 internally defines a hollow space 55, which communicates with the above-mentioned exhaust pipe 45.

Please refer to FIG. 3 again. When the exhaust motor 46 is started, gas with bad odor in the bowl space 22 is sucked into the passage 41 via the vents 42. The gas with bad odor gathered in the passage 41 is then exhausted via the extension passage 43 into the exhaust pipe 45 and finally discharged into an outdoor environment. In this manner, bad odor in the toilet can be removed without the need of using any chemical compound that would possibly hazard the user's health.

In brief, the present invention provides a toilet having an exhausting mechanism provided in a toilet main body thereof. The exhaust mechanism includes a plurality of vents spaced along a top of the bowl space and communicating with an exhaust pipe led to an outdoor environment. When the exhausting mechanism is actuated, bad odor in the toilet bowl can be exhausted and removed in a simple and safe way.

The present invention has been described with some preferred embodiments thereof and it is understood that many changes and modifications in the described embodiments can be carried out without departing from the scope and the spirit of the invention that is intended to be limited only by the appended claims. 

1. A toilet with bad-odor exhausting mechanism, comprising a toilet main body having a bowl internally defining an open-topped bowl space and a seat correspondingly located on a top of the bowl, the bowl space having a bottom opening connected to a water-seal structure while the latter being connected at a lower end to a sewer pipe; the toilet being characterized in having an exhausting mechanism associated with the toilet main body for exhausting gas in the bowl space to an outdoor environment, and the exhausting mechanism comprising a passage provided in the toilet main body to extend around the bowl space, a plurality of vents spaced along the passage and communicating with the bowl space, an extension passage having an end connected to an end of the passage, a connecting member connected to another end of the extension passage, an exhaust pipe having an end locked to the connecting member, and an exhaust motor connected to another end of the exhaust pipe for exhausting the gas in the bowl space to the outdoor environment.
 2. The toilet with bad-odor exhausting mechanism as claimed in claim 1, wherein the passage is embedded in the top of the bowl; the vents are separately extended between a wall surface of the bowl space and the passage in the top of the bowl; and the other end of the extension passage is extended to an outer surface of the bowl.
 3. The toilet with bad-odor exhausting mechanism as claimed in claim 1, wherein the connecting member is a threaded ring.
 4. The toilet with bad-odor exhausting mechanism as claimed in claim 1, wherein the passage is embedded in and extended around the seat; the vents are located in the seat to communicate the bowl space with the passage; and the other end of the extension passage is extended to an outer surface of the seat.
 5. The toilet with bad-odor exhausting mechanism as claimed in claim 4, wherein the seat is a combined seat assembled from an upper seat and a corresponding lower seat; the upper seat being provided on a bottom side with an upper passage extending around the upper seat, a plurality of upper vents communicating the upper passage with an inner edge of the upper seat, and an upper extension passage communicating with the upper passage and leading to an outer edge of the upper seat; the lower seat being provided on a top side with a lower passage corresponding to the upper passage and extending around the lower seat, a plurality of lower vents corresponding to the upper vents, and a lower extension passage corresponding to the upper extension passage; whereby when the upper seat is closed to and laid on the top side of the lower seat, the upper and lower passages together define the passage, the upper and lower vents together define the vents, and the upper and lower extension passages together define the extension passage.
 6. The toilet with bad-odor exhausting mechanism as claimed in claim 4, wherein the seat is configured as a hollow seat assembled from a first seat and a corresponding second seat; the first seat defining on a bottom side a recessed space, and being provided on a surface at a predetermined position with an extension opening; the second seat being provided on a bottom side at predetermined positions with a plurality of spaced vents; whereby when the first seat is closed to and laid on the second seat, the recessed space functions like an exhaust passage, which is connected at the extension opening to the exhaust pipe via the connecting member.
 7. The toilet with bad-odor exhausting mechanism as claimed in claim 4, wherein the connecting member is configured as a pivotal structure for movably connecting the seat to the bowl; the pivotal structure including a pivotal hole located in a pivotal section of the seat, the pivotal hole having an end communicating with the extension passage and another end pivotally connected to a hollow pivotal shaft that is connected to a bearing section provided on an outer surface of the bowl; the hollow pivotal shaft internally defining an axially extended bore and being provided around an end connected to the bearing section with a radially outward extended flange, which prevents the hollow pivotal shaft from sliding out of the bearing section; and the bearing section internally defining a hollow space, which communicates with the exhaust pipe. 